Brazil has 14 of world`s 50 most violent cities

Rio de Janeiro: Of the 50 most violent cities across the world, 14 are in Brazil, a Mexican think-tank said Friday.

The word`s most violent city is San Pedro Sula in Honduras, with a murder rate of 158.87 for every 100,000 inhabitants, the Citizens` Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice said in a report.
Second on the list is Juarez, Mexico, with a rate of 147.77 murders for every 100,000 inhabitants, said Xinhua.

Maceio, capital of Alagoas state in northeast Brazil, holds third place with a murder rate of 135.26 for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Other 13 Brazilian state capitals, besides Maceio, that made the dubious list, two reached top 20 - Belem ranked 10th and Vitoria 17th, the report showed.
Most of Brazil`s violent cities are in the less developed northeast region, with six of the nine state capitals there put on the list.

Brazil`s two largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro, are not on the list. Of the 50 cities on the list, 40 are in Latin America, including 12 in Mexico and five in Colombia.